ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIAL JUSTICE
The Dem Failure to Follow the “Georgia Way” Lost Virginia and Points Toward Fascism BY JOEL SEGAL AND HARVEY WASSERMAN
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diminish or eventually supplant the totals coming in from the rich and the corporations. To say that would embody a monumental shift in the American balance of power is to vastly understate the case. %XW DW OHDVW HTXDOO\ LPSRUWDQW FRXOG EH WKH VKLIW WRQLWW\JULWW\RQWKHJURXQGRUJDQL]LQJ DVEURXJKWWREHDULQ*HRUJLDSULPDU - LO\ E\ $QGUHD 0LOOHU RI WKH FRPSXWHUVDYY\ &HQWHUIRU&RPPRQ*URXQG3URIHVVRU(PHU - LWXV *ORULD 7LQXEX DQG WKH $WODQWD 1$$&3¶V 0F&OHQGRQ $V GRFXPHQWHG LQ D EUHDN - WKURXJK VHULHV RI ¿UVWSHUVRQ DFFRXQWV ³7KH *HRUJLD :D\´ ZZZHOHFWLRQSURWHFWLRQ org UHOLHGRQSHUVRQWRSHUVRQFDPSDLJQLQJ LQ ERWK XUEDQ DQG UXUDO DUHDV ZKHUH ³UHWDLO´ SROLWLFV DGYDQFHG ,QWHUQHW FDSDELOLWLHV DQG KDQGVRQ*HW2XW7KH9RWHPDGHDOOWKHGLI - ference. $V LQ 9LUJLQLD XQWROG ERDWORDGV RI 'HPR - cratic Party cash traditionally pours into cor- SRUDWHPHGLD FR̆HUV WR EX\ HQGOHVV KRXUV RI UDGLR79LQWHUQHW DGYHUWLVLQJ %XW SUHFLRXV few grassroots dollars sustained hundreds of volunteers who did the nitty-gritty work in *HRUJLD RI PHHWLQJ JUHHWLQJ DQG DFWLYDWLQJ otherwise ignored voters both in rural areas
'HPRFUDWVLQFHVRXWKHUQHU%LOO&OLQWRQUDQLQ ZLWK5RVV3HURWVSOLWWLQJWKHULJKWZLQJ vote. (YHQPRUHXQOLNHO\ZDVWKH-DQXDU\ 86 6HQDWH YLFWRU\ RI WZR'HPRFUDWV5DSKD - el Warnock and Jon Ossof. Together they EURXJKW WKH8SSHU+RXVH WRD WLHJLY - LQJ9LFH3UHVLGHQW.DPDOD+DUULVWKHGHFLVLYH vote that has radically transformed the bal- DQFHRISRZHURQ&DSLWRO+LOO 7KHVH HDUWKVKDNLQJ 'HPRFUDWLF YLFWRULHV sparked an epic political transformation not only because of where they happened — but because of how. *HRUJLDZDVIRXQGHGLQWKHVE\-DPHV 2JOHWKRUSHDVD8WRSLDQFRORQ\6RPH prisoners were brought there from England with the purpose of starting a new life. %XW DV WKH VODYH V\VWHP WRRN URRW*HRUJLD became a bastion of racism and inequality. A lynchpin of the Confederacy and then of the Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow bigotry toward both blacks and Jews is deeply ingrained in the VWDWH¶V '1$ ,I WKH YLFWRULHV RI RQH RI HDFKLQIDFWLQGLFDWHDSLYRWDOVKLIWLQWKH*HRU - gia worldview, it would have huge long-term impacts on the American electoral calculus.
and the inner cities. These dedicated activists also kept watchful eyes on how the regis- tration records were being kept, how the polls were being operated, how the ballots were protected, counted and recounted…and much more. ,QUHVSRQVH WKH7UXPS%DQQRQ5HSXEOLFDQVDUHUXVKLQJ WRHQDFW GR]HQV RI UHVWULFWLYH ODZV WKURXJK WKH JHUU\PDQGHUHG DXWKRULWDULDQ *HRUJLD OHJLVODWXUH DQGPDQ\PRUH OLNH LW WKURXJKRXW WKH867KH\ DUH LQ¿OWUDWLQJ HOHFWLRQ ERDUGV DQG SUHFLQFW VWD̆V ZLWK *23 RSHUD - tives whose mission will be to subvert elections and guarantee the Re- SXEOLFDQVJDLQDEVROXWHSRZHULQDQG ,W¶VQRFRLQFLGHQFHWKDW'RQDOG7UXPS¶VYLROHQW:KLWH6XSUHPDFLVW DWWDFNRQ WKH86&DSLWDOFDPHZLWKLQKRXUVDIWHU WKHQRQYLROHQW
%XW HYHQ PRUH LPSRUWDQW PD\ EH WKH QDWXUH RI WKH PRGHUQL]HG JUDVVURRWVRUJDQL]LQJWKDWPDGHWKRVHYLFWRULHVSRVVLEOH²DQGZKLFK WKH'HPRFUDWVMXVWLJQRUHGLQ9LUJLQLDZLWKFDWDVWURSKLFUHVXOWV 2UJDQL]LQJZLWKLQWKH$IULFDQ$PHULFDQFRPPXQLW\GDWHVEDFNWR EHIRUH WKH5HYROXWLRQZLWK WKH IRXQGLQJ E\3ULQFH+DOO RISUHGRP - LQDQWO\ EODFN0DVRQLF ORGJHV ZKRVH SURJHQ\ DUH VWLOO DFWLYH DQG HI - IHFWLYH ,Q GXULQJ WKH ¿UVW 3URJUHVVLYH (UD EODFNV DQG ZKLWHV together formed the National Association for the Advancement of Col- ored People. Today the NAACP is a major force in American politics. 6XEVWDQWLDO FKDSWHUV IXQFWLRQ VWDWHZLGH LQ *HRUJLD DQG LQ $WODQWD ZKHUH OHJHQGDU\RUJDQL]HU5D\0F&OHQGRQVHUYHVDV3ROLWLFDO'LUHF - tor. ,Q6WDF\$EUDPVZRUNHGZLWK0F&OHQGRQDQGRWKHUVWR¿UHXS DJUDVVURRWVQHWZRUNWKDWSXWKHURQWKHEULQNRIEHFRPLQJ$PHULFD¶V
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PATHWAYS—Winter 21-22—15
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